from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

Disappointment: Colorado unexpectedly won the NHL’s toughest division, the Central, last season, in large part because of a 15-4-4 overtime record and possession stats that the analytics crowd mocked. The predictions that they would backslide have come true, mostly because all those extra-time games that went their way a year ago have been lost this time around (a league-worst 0-5). Nathan MacKinnon overcame a slow start, with a scoring spurt these past 10 days, but the rest of the offence is languishing far behind last year’s top-five production.

Surprise: Coming off a disappointing finish as the St. Louis Blues’ playoff goaltending “saviour,” Ryan Miller signed with the Vancouver Canucks and is off to a roaring 9-1 start, tops in the league for goalie wins. Miller’s presence, along with an organizational culture change which brought Trevor Linden, Jim Benning and Willie Desjardins into three key management roles, has the Canucks contending for top spot in the Pacific. Two healthy and productive Sedins doesn’t hurt either.

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